Green Designs for Industrial Cable

Industrial manufacturing and eco-friendly don't usually appear in the same sentence. In fact, they seem like polar opposites.

In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem; Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.

Countries around the world are reacting to environmental threats by enacting legislation and approving regulations that encourage an environmental sensitivity. They're looking for green solutions that reduce safety hazards and don't use potentially toxic components. Machine designers and engineers are becoming more aware of the challenges of using equipment that could harm human health, the environment, or other equipment. They're also more aware of the variety of regulations regarding toxic emissions in effect around the world.

If a US company wants to export equipment, it must produce products that comply with local environmental codes. In addition, legislation in the US increasingly provides strong incentives for developing products that have minimal impact on the environment.

Environmental standards for industrial cable
Europe and Asia have more restrictive industrial environmental standards than the US. Some directives have been in place for some time, including Europe's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive (more on that below).

Another defining European Union regulation is Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), which addresses the production and use of chemical substances as well as their potential impact on both humans and the environment. REACH attempts to regulate both the safety and recyclability of products. It requires all companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the European Union in quantities of one ton or more per year to register these substances with a new European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). To date, companies have registered more than 30,000 materials and products to comply with REACH standards.

In the mid-2000s, the REACH, ROHS, and WEEE standards were updated to exclude certain known toxic substances such as lead, heavy metals, and some bromines. Manufacturers of industrial materials changed their products to meet these regulations. For example, all industrial cable sold today is more environmentally friendly than cable sold 10 years ago. A further step in minimizing environmental impact is to ensure that the compounds released when a product breaks down, or is set on fire, are not toxic. To have an eco-friendly machine, it's necessary to have eco-friendly components. Cabling is one of those components.

The green drawbacks of halogenated industrial cable
Most codes around the world agree that industrial-grade cable should be fire-resistant. Traditional cable jackets have been made with halogen-containing compounds such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). Halogen is a recognized fire-suppressant and was ubiquitous for awhile, found in everything from industrial cables to children's pajamas.

While halogenated cables don't contain the toxic components they may have had in the previous century, when they do burn, they create a harmful acid by binding with moisture and they generate dense smoke. The acid can also cause corrosion and damage to sensitive and expensive equipment. This is true even if the equipment is never directly exposed to fire or flame-suppressants during firefighting.

While it is certainly desireable to have insulation products for wire and cables that do not produce toxic and corrosive products when they burn, it is also important to consider the other results of using the new materials. Things like higher processing temperatures are one potential concern, along with mechanical property degradation with time.

My point is that often there are unanticipated consequences that can be quite serious. Consider the aluminum residential wiring era as one example.

Restrictive industrial environmental standards in Asia most likely only applies to a few countries, as naperlou mentioned. The need to regulate these standards across the whole of Asia still exists. Nevertheless, it's very encouraging to hear of eco-friendly cable technology.

I also agree with you naperlou. I'm glad that these toxic substances are being reduced, but these laws are conveniently used to also stifle competition from outside competitors. To have the U.S. be on the same playing field as other countries, I'd like to see us adopt RoHS as a standard also so everyone would be held to the same regulations.

I agree with you Naperlou, I was reading the article and when it said that Asia has more restrictive environmental standards, I was finding it hard to believe. I have visited few manufacturing industries in Asia and environmental eco friendly standards are least given attention to. They are more focused on their production and making profits than on eco friendly environment. Some big international companies do promote it, but that to is mostly restrained just to advertising. Most of the industries in Asia are still running on old conventional equipment, and need time to adopt change and incorporate environmental friendly standards.

Frank, the trend toward being more environmentally friendly is an encouraging one. I wonder if the standards in Asia are really enforced. Perhaps in Japan, but many other Asian countries have laws on the books that their local industries often bypass. Historically they have been used to stifle competition from outside. I feel a lot safer here than anywhere in Asia.

EU standards are strong, but with a lot of manufacturing moving to lower cost countries in Eastern Europe we often see that they are not fully enforced.

Cable standards are important. If you look around you will see a lot of cable. It is good to see companies like Belden innovating to meet the standards.

Industrial workplaces are governed by OSHA rules, but this isn’t to say that rules are always followed. While injuries happen on production floors for a variety of reasons, of the top 10 OSHA rules that are most often ignored in industrial settings, two directly involve machine design: lockout/tagout procedures (LO/TO) and machine guarding.

Load dump occurs when a discharged battery is disconnected while the alternator is generating current and other loads remain on the alternator circuit. If left alone, the electrical spikes and transients will be transmitted along the power line, leading to malfunctions in individual electronics/sensors or permanent damage to the vehicle’s electronic system. Bottom line: An uncontrolled load dump threatens the overall safety and reliability of the vehicle.

While many larger companies are still reluctant to rely on wireless networks to transmit important information in industrial settings, there is an increasing acceptance rate of the newer, more robust wireless options that are now available.

To those who have not stepped into additive manufacturing, get involved as soon as possible. This is for the benefit of your company. When the new innovations come out, you want to be ready to take advantage of them immediately, and that takes knowledge.

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